Help me focus please: Hi all, I don't know what to do. I took this photo yesterday, and a couple of others, but for some reason it just looks fuzzy or out of focus or like it has a lot...

Marzee Loc: Christchurch

Hi all, I don't know what to do. I took this photo yesterday, and a couple of others, but for some reason it just looks fuzzy or out of focus or like it has a lot of noise on it. The point is they are not clear at all. I haven't had this problem before, so not sure what happened. Whatever it might be, any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong please?

geteup Loc: Bishop, California

Did you crop it alot? Or take it with a telescoping lens? Sometimes when I crop alot it gets blurey. Still a great shot.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Marzee wrote:

Hi all, I don't know what to do. I took this photo yesterday, and a couple of others, but for some reason it just looks fuzzy or out of focus or like it has a lot of noise on it. The point is they are not clear at all. I haven't had this problem before, so not sure what happened. Whatever it might be, any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong please?

Camera? Lens? It looks cropped....

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

On this shot your camera may have focused on the branch in front of the bird depending on what focusing mode you are using and what focus points.

The bottom line is people in here can help you better if you supply information regarding camera, lens, ISO, etc. A larger photo may help also (choose the download original box).

Marzee Loc: Christchurch

Hi all, thanks for looking at this for me. I guess it would help to supply the info. :) I shoot with a 35mm Canon Powershot SX20is. This photo was shot in manual mode at 1/160s, f/5., focal length 100mm, auto white balance, 4.0 zoom, ISO 400. I did crop it yes, and attached is the original version and seems I didn't keep the original version unfortunately, but the attached photo was shot with the same exposure. Used Picasa to fix the lighting a bit and sharpen a little. Hope that helps. Thank you.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

It focused on the branch in front of the bird. Use the single focus point for more exact focusing and aim for the birds eye.

Marzee Loc: Christchurch

jeep_daddy wrote:

It focused on the branch in front of the bird. Use the single focus point for more exact focusing and aim for the birds eye.

Thanks jeep-daddy, will keep that in mind.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

jeep_daddy wrote:

It focused on the branch in front of the bird. Use the single focus point for more exact focusing and aim for the birds eye.

I think you hit it on the head Jeep Daddy.

Jim D

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Marzee wrote:

Hi all, thanks for looking at this for me. I gues... (show quote)

I am not familar with this particular camera but if shooting in manual mode try increasing the aperture to f8 to f11. This will give you a little more DOF. Also, what is 4.0 zoom? Is this an electronic zoom feature? If so try turning it off. Electronic zooms often cause focus problems.

Jim D

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Bmac wrote:

On this shot your camera may have focused on the branch in front of the bird depending on what focusing mode you are using and what focus points.

The bottom line is people in here can help you better if you supply information regarding camera, lens, ISO, etc. A larger photo may help also (choose the download original box).

Thanks for supplying the info although it is hard to tell what's going on with the thumbnail size. It may be, as I originally stated, the camera focused on that branch in front of the bird. 8-)

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Bmac wrote:

quote=Bmac On this shot your camera may have focu... (show quote)

I think it's focus + asa + what I understand to be the utilization of 4x electronic zoom. I used to have this camera-- and there is a definite drop in optical quality when magnifying this way-- essentially it's a form of cropping

digitaltim

Have you checked the diopter on your viewfinder to make sure that's properly focussed? If it's not then you'll never get a true focus.

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

[quote=Marzee]Marzee, If you post your picture again and check the "store original" box then we can check you meta data files and may be able to help. David in Florida.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Marzee wrote:

Hi all, thanks for looking at this for me. I gues... (show quote)

If the words "4.0 zoom" means you used digital zoom then that's a lot of the problem. In older models digital zoom simply crops the photo internally and dramatically reduces the resolution. Reduced resolution could look like what you have displayed - especially when partnered with higher than normal ISO like 400.

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

Checking both images as closely as possible without having the original, I personally don't think you have a "focus" problem other than the fact that with so many branches surrounding the birds could have grabbed the attention of your auto focus.

I think you have basically three problems showing up here that are making your images appear "unsharp"

1) Underexposure causing excessive noise
2) Too high ISO for the camera's ability causing more noise
3) Excessive cropping, mainly from using digital zoom, creating pixalization.

The combination of all three gives an overall fuzzy look. If it were just incorrect focus, something would be in sharp focus . . . nothing is!

Hope that helps . . .